Rice holds off St. Edward's to snap 4-game losing streak

WICHITA, KS - NOVEMBER 25: Rice Owls guard Chris Mullins (24) passes the ball during the college basketball game against the Wichita State Shockers on November 25, 2018 at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas. Mullins scored a game- and career-high 24 points plus two steals in Thursday's win over St. Edward's. (Photo by William Purnell/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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WICHITA, KS - NOVEMBER 25: Rice Owls guard Chris Mullins (24) passes the ball during the college basketball game against the Wichita State Shockers on November 25, 2018 at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas. Mullins scored a game- and career-high 24 points plus two steals in Thursday's win over St. Edward's. (Photo by William Purnell/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Had Rice had an additional closer, some of last year’s losses might’ve gone their way.

On Thursday, two newcomers seized control late to comeback and close out St. Edward’s 78-73 to snap a four-game losing streak and build momentum towards the beginning of conference play in late December.

“When you have 12 games off it really makes you think of games you could’ve won, mistakes we had. So the next time we had an opportunity was today,” guard Chris Mullins said. “I wasn’t trying to lose.”

Rice entered halftime with a one-point advantage, but St. Edward’s used a series of five-point runs to take the lead in the second half.

The period saw 10 lead changes but with just under 10 minutes remaining, the Hilltoppers (9-2) were on top by seven.

After shooting 80-percent from behind the arc through an early stretch of the game, Rice (4-6) largely subsisted on free throws and lay-ups—shooting 88.2-percent from the line in the second half after making less than 68-percent of their free throws in the previous five games.

“I was really, really pleased with the free throw shooting,” coach Scott Pera said. “We spent a lot of time on that the last ten days because basically it helped us win the game today.”

A team effort won the game, but in the final six minutes, two Rice players dominated.

For a near-four-minute stretch, forward Jack Williams scored all of Rice’s points (minus a pair of Robert Martin free throws).

He hit a jumper with 5:01 on the clock to even the game for the fourth time in the half.

But on the other end of the floor, guard Ryan Garza nailed a three with a gliding Williams’ arm obstructing his view.

Rice tightened up on defense and after Mullins swiped a steal and went coast-to-coast for a game-tying lay-up with 1:40 left, the Owls wouldn’t allow another point.

Mullins and Williams would score the game’s final seven points before flexing and bumping chests after the final buzzer.

“When practice started kicking off I had confidence, I was showing this ability in practice,” Mullins said. “I knew that I was going to be able to do what I did out there…I’m just glad to be able to show it in my game.”